Chapter Eight

It was late that night, when Rikki was lying awake in the tent she shared with her two best friends, that she heard the noise. It was somewhere between a twig snapping and the groan of a tree in the wind, but whatever it was, Rikki couldn't quite be sure. Pulling on a jumper and stuffing her feet in her navy Converse, she crept out of the tent.

The cold night chill was apparent as Rikki stood looking at the moon. It was a tiny sliver away from being full, and despite her many experiences with full moons, they still secretly made Rikki nervous. She wondered what would happen this time as she zipped her jumper up and pulled the hood over her curly head. That was when the flicker of light caught her eye. Turning her head to peer through the trees, Rikki strained her eyes to see what it was. But then it disappeared.

Rikki trudged through the sand dunes over into the trees, climbing over some branches to investigate. Suddenly, the light appeared – but this time as a thin beam of torchlight. Rikki's eyes widened. There was someone else on Mako. As she watched, she realised the person was just taking a look through the forest, though she didn't know why – not at this late hour. She continued to watch until the torch beam came her way and she ducked behind some bushes. She peered over again, this time seeing who the person was – a tall boy with sandy blond hair. Angrily, Rikki ran back to the beach and dived into the sea. She had to find out who this boy was, and what he was doing on their island.

It didn't take her long to swim round to the other side of the island, and dry herself back into human form. She quickly investigated the entirety of the boy's camp on the beach which consisted of a single one-man tent and a huge backpack full of camping gear. Rikki rummaged through the boy's stuff, grimacing at some socks she found which smelt around two days old at least, and found some form of I.D. So, she thought, his name is William Benjamin and he is eighteen – old enough to drive judging from his permit. She looked up as she heard the sound of footsteps, fled the camp and swam back to her own camp.

"Morning, guys," Rikki said, yawning as she joined the others for sausages and eggs the next morning.

"What even-" Zane cut himself off, throwing a disgusted look at his phone. He immediately smiled as he saw Rikki and ushered her over to sit by him.

"What's up?" Rikki asked.

"One missed call," Zane read off the screen.

"What's so annoying about that?"

"And a voicemail from the same number," Zane added. "Listen to this."

Rikki held his shiny mobile to her ear and listened to the recorded message.

"Hey, Zane, this is Mia. My friend is throwing a party next week and I was wondering if you wanted to come? Call me, thanks."

"Ugh," said Rikki. "I totally agree with you – she is annoying. Is she hitting on you or something? I mean, didn't she get the picture?"

Zane sighed. "I don't even know how she got my number," he said. "I mean – seriously. Couldn't she tell from at the docks that I'm taken? She's just another Miriam."

"Hey, Zane, this is Mia," Rikki mimicked in an overly nasal tone.

Zane laughed. "I'm not going to that stupid party anyway," he said.

"Why not?" Rikki asked, a sly look coming onto her face.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she needs to be put in her place," Rikki replied. "Go to the party – and I'll come with you."

Zane grinned, "Now that sounds like a plan."

"Anyone for breakfast?" Cleo asked, passing around plates.

Lewis took his obligingly. "Hey, guys, do you think it's bad for mermaids to be on Mako during a full moon?" he said.

"Why d'you ask?" Ash replied, sticking a forkful of food in his mouth.

"Interestingly enough," said Lewis, "The full moon is scheduled for tomorrow night and we'll still be here."

"Didn't you think about that before you planned this whole thing?" Emma asked.

"Sort of," said Lewis, "I guess it didn't really cross my mind."

"Well, what's the worst that can happen?" Cleo shrugged, being the ever-so-slightly-irritating optimist.

"Actually," said Rikki, "There's something you guys need to know." She told them about her almost-encounter with William Benjamin the night before.

"William Benjamin?" Emma asked. "Was he sort of fit, tall, with blond hair?"

Rikki nodded. "Why?"

"Because that's the guy who saw me swimming," said Emma with a worried look. Zane and Ash, meanwhile, were frowning about the fact that their girlfriends thought this blond guy was fit.

"I think we have a problem here," said Lewis, stating the obvious as always.

"Guys," said Cleo, "Maybe it would be better if we go back to Plan A - spending the full moon at my house tomorrow. It might be safer."

There was silence as everyone thought about it. Strangely enough, it was Zane who spoke up first.

"Maybe that would be better," he said slowly. "I mean, I'm not one to run away from a fight, but a secret should stay secret. If this guy finds out, then he could tell the world."

"And we could end up in a museum or something," Emma added.

"Or in a scientist's lab next to a whole tray of sharp-"

"Rikki," Cleo interrupted. "Anyway, maybe we should do a vote?"

"No need," said Ash. "I say we go back."

"Lewis?" Cleo asked, turning to the blond-haired boy who looked deep in thought.

Lewis nodded slowly. "I was looking forward to spending the weekend away from everyone, but this William guy doesn't need to know about you. Maybe it's for the best."

So the six teenagers abandoned their plans for the weekend and went back to Gold Coast for the rest of Saturday and Sunday. Rikki was relieved. That William Benjamin gave her the creeps.

A/N: I guess I haven't updated this story for a month or two now - really lacking inspiration - but I looked through my reviews and there was that one guest who asked me if Will and Bella from season 3 were ever going to feature in this (Thank you so much for that by the way if you're reading). And then, especially since the last chapter, I just thought - What if Will is that guy who's going to bust the secret? And so that's why he's in this chapter. I tried to reach 2000 words on this chapter but failed - I only reached just over 1000. Any more ideas would be very welcome and I hope there's some people out there still reading this. And now I've realised I've given one of those overly excessive and way too long author's notes so I'm going to go now, hoping you review :)

Ginger xx